VOA慢速英语2017--American Wins Nobel Prize in Economics

 

American economist¹ Richard Thaler has won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics.

Thaler was recognized for his work as a behavioral economist. That means he studies the reasons behind the economic decisions people make.

Thaler received the prize partly for his research into why people often make irrational² financial decisions. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the $1.1 million prize on Monday.

Speaking of the prize money, Thaler told reporters in Chicago after the announcement, “I will spend it as irrationally³ as possible.”

Things people do to make financial decisions

The award committee said Thaler explored “the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control.” It said the American economist’s work has shown how human qualities affect people’s individual decisions and the movements of financial markets.

Thaler developed the theory of “mental accounting⁴.” It describes how people create separate accounts in their minds to try to simplify financial decision-making.

He described how this can lead to less rational financial decisions like saving for a vacation while paying high credit card interest.

His research, Bloomberg noted⁵, showed that people often choose short-term pleasures, “which is why many people fail to plan and save for old age.”

The Reuters said Thaler’s research showed that such traits “as lack of self-control and fear of losing what you already have” can cause people to make bad short-term decisions.

One of those, Thaler noted, was keeping stock shares that have lost value or selling them too soon when they have gained value.

Thaler helped develop the “nudge” theory. It is the idea that small incentives⁶ can influence people to make good decisions. He said people should be permitted to make their own choices, but society “should actively⁷ try to guide individuals in the right direction.”

Cass Sunstein and Thaler wrote about the idea in the 2008 book “Nudge.”

The theory has been used by political candidates as they work to influence voters and government officials seeking to make changes in society.

Other areas also interested Thaler. He studied fairness. He found that people can accept increasing prices if the costs of many things are going up. But he found that they strongly disapprove⁸ of companies that raise prices simply because of high demand for one product.

Bloomberg called Thaler’s Nobel Prize “a reward for 40 years of work spent studying human bias⁹ and temptation.”

Thaler is considered one of the first behavioral economists¹⁰. His field, once criticized, has grown in popularity among economists over the last 10 years.

The economist even briefly¹¹ appeared in the 2010 movie, “The Big Short,” about the global financial crisis.

Thaler is a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

The economics prize was created in 1968 in memory of Alfred Nobel after his death. Since then, 79 individuals have received the prize. The first woman winner was Elinor Ostrom in 2009.

American have received about half of the Nobel Prizes for economics.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

irrational – adj. not rational, not based on good judgment¹² or reason

consequences – n. the results of an action

preferences – n. things that are liked or preferred more than others

account – n. a record of money paid, owed or received

incentives – n. reasons to do something

bias – n. believing in one side of an idea at the expense of the other

temptation – adj. the desire to have something

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

3 irrationally   

ad.不理性地

参考例句：

• They reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power. 他们对俄军的挑衅做出了很不理智的反应。
• The market is irrationally, right? 市场的走势是不是有点失去了理性？

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

9 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

10 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。